Chocolate Cake
by cae-prince
Summary: Just a small fic on how I envisioned Remus spending a birthday morning with his family – Dora and Teddy. There is no story to this… just a drabble and me testing the waters of writing again after a long while.


**Written on the occasion of Remus Lupin's birthday - 10th March**

**Title:** Chocolate Cake  
**Characters:** Remus, Tonks and Teddy  
**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** Don't own them. Never will.  
**Timeline:** Strictly AU, ignores the crapilogue.  
**Warnings:** Un-beta'ed. No plot.

**Author's Note:** PWP, just a small fic on how I envisioned Remus spending a birthday morning with his family – Dora and Teddy. There is no story to this… just a drabble and me testing the waters of writing again after a long while. So blame any rustiness on that.  
Its not the best. But I do plan to tweak this sometime. I just wanted to get this posted today. So if its rushed, I apologise!

The day had started out to be one of those days where he wished he'd never left the security of his bed or the warmth of the body pressed into his side with sleep-mussed curls tickling his chin. The sky outside was overcast, with the promise of another cold and wet morning, with the sun fighting a losing battle against the clouds that tried to block its warming presence.

But Remus Lupin had done just that, when both his infant son and Nature had demanded his attention. Choosing to ignore the latter, he padded across the short hallway towards the room from where sharp and insistent cries of "Mummy" and "Dada" reached his ears. Quickening his pace, he reached the room, but only had enough time to glance at his bawling son, before he felt his legs give way from under him, as the rest of his body followed while his arms flailed about striving to catch the doorpost, but failing miserably.

"Oh, oof!" He hit the floor with a low thump, folding his elbows towards the side in time to prevent the back of his head from smacking the floor.

As he recovered from the shock, his mind dimly registered that the bawling which had drawn him into the room had stopped. Teddy Remus Lupin, aged one, his violet eyes round, seemed to have been shocked into silence (or so, Remus thought) as he watched his father do a flawless imitation of his pink-haired mother.

Still a little dazed, Remus cast his eyes around looking for the cause of his pratfall; locating it almost at once – a toy Ford Anglia, charmed to move on its own (courtesy George Weasley) had crossed his path at that unfortunate moment. Casting a baleful look at it and sparing an exasperated thought for the one-eared Weasley, Remus picked himself off the ground, wincing at the cracking sound his protesting bones made.

"Well, Teddy," he stepped towards the cot, swooped Teddy out of it and into his arms. "Never seen your Dad do that before? How about we keep this just between us, Teddy? Your Mummy never has to know that Daddy did a good imitation of her, now? Do we?"

Teddy's only response was a delighted "Da!" which Remus took to mean as concurrence. Except…

"Too late for that, Lupin."

The voice made him turn around to find his wife leaning against the door post which had eluded his grasp earlier on, a wide grin splitting her elfin face.

Still grinning, Tonks stepped into the room, her eyes still fixed on him and the turquoise-haired toddler in his arms.

"You must know by now, dear husband", her voice took on a playful lilt as she walked towards him, "that you can't hide things from an Au… oh oof!"

The errant car was back, this time under the ever-clumsy feet of Dora Lupin. With Remus still out of reach to catch her (even though he had started to move towards her), Gravity bested her as she landed knee first on the floor.

"Mummy fwell". Teddy squealed as Remus hurried the few steps towards her. He was about to voice a concerned, "Alright?" when he heard her let out a low chuckle.

His face split into a grin identical to the one she had had earlier, as he said, "You must know by now, dearest wife, that one can't poke fun at a Marauder without consequences"

Her eyes narrowed as she glared up at him from the floor, batting away the free outstretched hand he'd offered to her.

"Watch it, Remus," she stood up, stepping close to him and their son, "or I just might tell Mum not to make that chocolate cake that you love so much"

Remus' eyes widened with mock-horror, "You wouldn't!"

"Sure, I would… or better yet, I'll tell Molly you called her cake crusty and dry compared to Mum's cake" Tonks reached for Teddy, pulling him out of his father's arms. "Shall we, Teddy? We can tell Nana Molly what Daddy said about her cake?"

At that Remus let out a full-blown laugh, the prospect of facing an angry Molly Weasley more preferable to the prospect of no cake at all.

"Love", he countered as he wound his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to him. "Don't put ideas into our son's head. Besides, depriving me of Chocolate cake would also deprive _you_ and _Teddy_"

He let out another chuckle as his wife elbowed him in the sides.

"Alright" She conceded, "I'll let this go… for today. Only because its your birthday, and mainly because … I love you. Happy Birthday, love. We have a few gifts waiting downstairs. Don't we, Teddy?"

"Da!"

Tonks smiled as her husband bent to kiss their son's cheeks. As he raised his head, he met her eyes and she reached up to press her lips against his, and his hold on her tightened as he kissed her back.

"Da, Toc'late", Teddy's voice filtered through their ears pulling them out of their kiss-induced trance.

And sure enough, the smell of Andromeda's cake wafted through the house, filling their nostrils, beckoning them downstairs.

But yet, Remus felt that all the gifts and chocolate cakes in the world – delicious or crusty – could never replace the gifts he held in his arms.

_Fin_


End file.
